Principal and Leadership Team Responsibilities and Actions Important for First-Order Change

Principal / Leadership Team
Optimizer / Believe that as a cohesive group the faculty can produce powerful results (collective efficacy) / Identify tasks that capitalize on the strengths of the faculty
Use data to illustrate progress of the innovation
Affirmation / Acknowledge and celebrate the success of the school and individuals publicly / Look for examples of success for the principal to recognize and celebrate
Share student successes with parents and the community
Ideals/Beliefs / Operate from a well articulated set of ideals and beliefs regarding teaching and learning / Forge shared agreements around the mission, vision, and purpose of the school
Help transform beliefs into observable behaviors
Situational Awareness / Understand the factors that effect the day-to-day functioning of the school and uses this awareness to forecast potential problems / Keep the principal informed of perceptions from within the school as well as the community
Visibility / Visit classrooms formally and informally
Interact with faculty, students, and community members in a variety of settings / Support the principal in efforts to be visible
Remain highly visible in the school with faculty and students
Relationships / Foster and attend to personal relationships with faculty / Promote a culture of caring and procedures that support faculty in their lives outside of school
Recognize, with the principal, personal and professional milestones and accomplishments
Communication / Operationalize effective communication within the school via daily bulletins, web pages, professional sharing at faculty meetings, and common planning time / Help operationalize effective communication within the school via daily bulletins, web pages, professional sharing at faculty meetings, and common planning time
Model constructive disagreement and problem solving skills as well as positive communication
Culture / Build and maintain a culture where a common language is employed, ideas are shared, and staff members use agreed upon norms within the context of a shared purpose / Shape the culture of the school by modeling and monitoring cooperation and cohesion
Provide opportunities for faculty to dialogue around the purpose and vision of the school
Input / Establish and foster procedures that ensure every faculty member has input on important decisions and policies / Ensure that all perspectives are addressed by modeling appropriate ways to give feedback and ask questions
Ask strategic questions about whether decisions and actions are aligned with school goals and vision

Principal and Leadership Team Responsibilities and Actions Important for Second-Order Change

Principal / Leadership Team
Knowledge / Learns about the innovation, helps others learn about it / Learns about the innovation, helps others learn about it
Optimizer / Be the driving force behind the innovation
Take a stand for its success / Speaks positively about the innovation, provides examples of successful implementation
Identify roadblocks and challenges to the innovation
Intellectual Stimulation / Stimulate the intellectual curiosity of faculty with research, data, and visionary questions
Stimulate the intellectual reflection of faculty on their implementation of the innovation / Include research about the innovation in conversations, lead discussions on innovation progress
Ask questions that cause advisors to be reflective in their practices related to the innovation
Change Agent / Inspire faculty to operate at the edge of their competence / Raise issues, share data, compare where the school is and where it needs to be
Demonstrate “tolerance for ambiguity”
Monitoring/
Evaluating / Carefully monitor the effects of the innovation / Look at formative and summative assessments; conduct walk-throughs
Flexibility / Given the uncertainty inherent in second-order change, adapt leadership to the current situation / Continually adjust plans in response to progress and tension
Use protocols that allow for efficient and usable input
Ideals/Beliefs / Keep the reasoning behind the innovation in the forefront of discussions
Stay the course despite pressures and obstacles / Communicate ideals and beliefs formally and informally
Ask strategic questions to monitor and prompt actions to align with goals and outcomes
Second-Order Change: Responsibilities That Suffer and Actions that Help
Culture / Provide opportunities for faculty members to discuss the advantages and implications of the innovation
Support faculty members based on their response to the innovation
Communication / Probe for questions and concerns so that they may be acknowledged or resolved by the Leadership Team
Convey a consistent and uniform message regarding the innovation and share the implementation plan with faculty
Order / Communicate that the innovation may disrupt the usual routine of the school
Design effective procedures for communication, problem solving, and decision making to foster a sense of stability
Input / Work to develop “ownership” rather than “buy-in” by offering multiple ways for faculty to share concerns, questions and input
Communicate the ways input informs decisions while being transparent about the difference between input and decisions

Adapted from Marzano, McNulty, and Waters, Effective School Leadership: From Research to Results, 2004 by ESR, Educators for Social Responsibility, Poliner and Tissiere, November 2007 & PEBC, Public Education & Business Coalition, Jones & Tissiere, November 2007